Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened
by KennyG
Summary: For Nearly 11 1/2 years, Naruto has suffered at the hands of the ignorant for too long that one day, his 'mask' cracks, and all that is left is sorrow and rage. Dark Naruto Fic. Naru/Hina. Full Summary, other pairings, and explination inside.
1. Chapter 1

Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened

**Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened**

**Summary:** For 11 years Naruto has had to deal with the hatred of the villagers of Konoha. And then, on his 12th birthday, all that would stop and his kindness would die and only his rage and anger would be there. Stronger, faster, smarter Dark Naruto with a bloodline. Stronger, faster, more skillful Garra with a bloodline(which means that yes, his siblings will have it as well.) for _**later**_ chapters. Oh, and he already has a dark personality. Naru/Hina, Gaara/Matsu, and Sasu/Saku for later. Inspired by Setsuko-san's "Change in the Seal", kagehisa's "Unleashing the Beast", DeExil's "You don't deserve me", and MatrixExplosion's "Rise Of Naruto: Shinigami's Touch. Seriously your strories are incredible. **Please. Continue. Writing.** Anyway, enjoy, review, and give me some advice. Oh, and **I don't own Naruto.**

/

It was lovely afternoon in the village of Konoha as the sunset shown a lovely tangerine shade of orange.

Everyone was enjoying the rest of the day… well everyone except for one boy who was currently being chased by an angry mob of villagers and shinobi.

He was boy that looked 11-years-old, with a bushy head of blonde spiky hair that reached all around, saphire eyes and three whisker-like marks on both sides of his face. He wore a bright orange jumpsuit topped with blue shoulder blades and a white turtleneck collar that was puffed out too much.

He went by many names: 'Demon', 'Monster', 'Demon Fox', 'Beast', 'Dobe', 'Baka', and sometimes on special occasions, 'Hell-spawn'. Yes, these were merely branding names of his tenant, but few called him by his real name.

His name was Naruto Uzumaki. Container of the most powerful demon known throughout history, _**The Kyuubi no Youko**_.

Now as it was supposedly told in Konoha, The Kyuubi had been defeated by the village's own Yondaime(Fourth Hokage), Minato Namikaze. However, that was merely a cover-up for the true story. Now although he was the strongest ninja in the village that even the village of Stone have cursed the nickname ' TheYellow Flash of Konoha' for his famous **Hiraishin no justu**(Flying Thunder God technique), he was still only a human and the Kyuubi was a demon that could not be killed by mere mortal hands. The Yondaime knew that he was no where near as powerful as a demon, but then he thought that he didn't need to be. During the Fox's rampage, all seemed hopeless as it rampaged throughout the village, but while in the Hokage office, the Yondaime did the unthinkable. He struck a deal with the Shinigami(Death God) allowing the Fourth to summon the God of Death himself, but at a cost… the summoner's own soul to be consumed by him and wander inside his stomach in a void of nothingness, for all of eternity.

With the deal made he was able to have a secret weapon at his disposal, but not before he listened to the Shinigami's warning about sealing something as powerful as the Lord of Hell himself into something with very small, very limited chakra coils, most commonly known as a human. So he explained to him that only a newborn baby would be able to contain that insane amount of chakra and live, because it's chakra coils were still in development.

So the Yondaime successfully sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn boy. He had thought that with this done the boy would be seen as a hero. Boy was he wrong.

That baby is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is his story.

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Back to our preteen young blonde who was running away from an angry mob, Naruto being one with an insane amount of stamina was ahead by a good 3 meters but the villagers were still persistent to 'Finish what the Yondaime started'.

As Naruto made the next turn to what he thought was a shortcut to his apartment, his eyes widened in shock and fear as it was really a dead end to an alley way. Thankfully, with his basic ninja training he managed jump off the side of alley's walls. He was about 2 feet away from a jump to freedom, but to his shock he felt chest slice open diagonally from both sides by two ANBU wielding their standard issue kataana. A pained look was on his face as he plummeted down to the ground. He ended up falling on his back causing a sickening crack of spine and a painful yell to erupt from his mouth.

There he laid lifelessly as the villagers that he tried to avoid, found him and were closing in. He frustratingly told his body to move constantly so he get out of there, but to no avail as his body was in so much pain from the waist up. There was only one chance of escaping this gruesome fate. He quickly reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a palm-sized smoke bomb and crushed it until it exploded. White smoke consumed the entire alley. This was Naruto's chance to get out. While in the blanket of smoke he henged into a villager with butcher knife that was a kunai in disguise, he changed his voice into a middle-aged man's and yelled "The demon just went around the corner! After him!" Surprisingly they fell for it, even the ANBU that attacked him, and started running back out the alley with Naruto perfectly fitting in the crowd. Either he was getting much better with his **Henge no justsu** or the villagers and shinobi were turning into idiots.

As he followed the mob they got close to his apartment, Naruto managed to sneak off behind them and slink into the shadows of the building across from his. Once the coast was clear he changed back and limped his way up the stairs and to his apartment door. His wounds were surprisingly closing up a his spine was slowly welding it's cracks and fractures though he was light-headed and weak from the blood loss and a fractured spine to care. He made his way into his apartment and started taking off his worn, torn orange jacket as he headed towards the bathroom. He took the rest of his clothes off and pulled himself into the shower stall.

Naruto closed his eyes and let the water rain down upon his face. As he did so, his wounds, which were quickly closing up, where healed completely, while his mind was in another place.

'_Everyday, I have to go through the same crap. Everyone hates me.'_

Yes, truth be told he never was the happy-go-lucky and annoying brat that people claim him to be, but he chose not to show his classmates his true face or they would just shun him further rather than notice him as an annoying prankster, and to Naruto it was better than nothing to help numb the pain of isolation and despair in his heart.

When he finished up and got out of the shower and changed, his thoughts were still consuming him while body did the rest of the stuff for him. He then heard childlike laughter coming from outside. He saw what truly pained him from the depths of his soul, because what he saw reminded him of days like this in what he could never have. No matter how much he pled or begged to whatever deity that cursed him with this life of isolation and hatred towards him…

He could never have a family.

The rest of the evening was spent from eating a non-poisonous dinner to sleeping on his old mattress.

He finally collapsed on his bed an let out all of the pent up sorrow and angst that he so constantly has to hide, his tears of anguish streaming down his face.

"Why, why, why, WHY, WHY!? Why do they hate me? What have I done that was so evil that everyone in this fucking village HATES ME?! Am I cursed? So cursed that I have to live in this fucking hellhole with these fucking villagers who want me dead… FOR THE REST OF MY MISERABLE EXISTENCE?!"

With no one to answer he let out a sigh and layed there for hours. He turned his head to see it was eleven o'clock in the evening on his alarm clock.

"Better get some sleep." He put on his pajamas, and went to bed, wrapped the covers over him, closed his eyes and went to sleep, but not before expressing his last thoughts before drifting off to dreamland.

"Here's to another day in this hellhole of a village the people call a peaceful paradise." And with a scoff, his drowziness overtook him and he went into a peaceful slumber.

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(In the Hokage's office)

The Sandaime Hokage watched in sadness from his crystal ball, knowing full well that he was partially responsible for not helping Naruto when he needed it.

Though he made the law about the villagers not mentioning the Kyuubi incident, the Council of Konoha dealt with the controversial issues of the villagers, while the Hokage dealt with the millitary and governmental issues of the village. And the council told him not to get involved in Naruto's affairs. This infuriated him to no end, but he couldn't do anything about it.

As he looked up to see the Hokage photos, he glanced towards the Yondaime in particular. "Minato, I'm sorry." He said as a tear slid down the left of his old cheek.

Meanwhile, the rival of the Sandaime and old warhawk/coucil member of Konoha, and head of the secret organization ANBU Root, Danzou, was secretly devising a plan to get the weapon he desired to help reshape Konoha under his malignant rule, and he would have the jinchurriki's help to do so.

With his good hand, he tapped onto the inside of his collar and contacted one of his men.

"A1, do you read me?"

(Outside Naruto's apartment)

"Hai Danzou-sama, I read you loud and clear."

"Good. Is everything ready?"

"The bombs are set, sir."

"Excellent."

"Sir, if I may ask, are you sure the demon will survive?"

"Are you questioning my orders?" Danzou said in a stern voice, despite his age.

"No sir. I apologize."

"Not to worry. As long as you and your partner put the bombs in the right place, he'll come out alive, but too terribly injured to move, then move in to grab him."

"Understood sir. How long until the operation is underway?"

Danzou looked at his office clock and smirked evilly at his most fortuitous opportunity.

"You're in luck, it starts in 5 minutes."

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(Back with Naruto; exactly 4 minutes and 53 seconds later)

7…

Naruto woke up with a thirst in his mouth.

6…

He got up and drowzilly made his way to the sink.

5…

He opened the door to the cabinent to grab a glass.

4…

He then turned to the sink and turned on the faucet.

3…

He let the water pour all the way to the top of his glass.

2…

He turned off the faucet and began raising the glass up to his parched lips.

1…

The tip of the glass nearly touched them.

'**BOOM!!'**

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(Back at the Hokage office)

The silver haired jounin, Kakashi, rushed in. "Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened to Naruto!"

Said Hokage whipped his head as soon as he heard the name 'Naruto'.

"What?! What happened?!" he asked in panic.

"Naruto's apartment blew up, with him still inside it!"

"What?! Hurry up and gather a squadron to put out that fire and rescue Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Yes sir!"

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(In the Hyuuga compound)

A lavender haired young Hyuuga heiress was tossing and turning in restlessness until she woke up with a gasp.

"Naruto-kun!" She cried.

Hinata Hyuuga couldn't help but feel a sharp pang in her heart knowing something bad had happened to her crush, Naruto. She then heard a couple of footsteps outside of her room. She quickly laid back down and closed her eyes but was only faking her slumber.

"Soldier, what are you doing at this late hour."

'_Tou-san'_ Hinata said to herself as she instantly recognized the first voice that belonged to her father, Hiashi Hyuuga. The second voice she didn't recognize. Probably because it was one of her father's elite guard or something.

"Forgive me Hiashi-sama, but I've been called in by my squad leader Kakashi Hatake, who's been ordered by the Sandaime Hokage to rescue the boy Naruto Uzumaki from an assasination attempt."

"What?!" Hiashi said in surprisingly slight concerning tone in his voice.

"Yes apparently there was a bomb explosion involved, and the outcome is his blown up apartment with him still inside."

(gasp)

The shinobi turned.

"Did you hear something?" asked the shinobi guard.

Hiashi knew what it was, or rather _**who**_ it was but he would talk to _**her**_ later. Said person was speechless and in shock with a hand clamped over her mouth while fresh tears were streaming down her cheeks.

'_N-No, N-Naruto-kun!__'_

"No, I didn't." Hiashi lied. "Now anyway, get going! Move! Move!!"

"Yes sir!" and with that he _**shushined**_ out of there.

"(sigh), I better talk to Hinata." He stepped inside his daughter's room to find she had been silently crying her eyes out. Hinata hadn't noticed her father come in until he knealt down to her side, took her hand and gently shook her out of her shock.

"Hinata. Hinata." He spoke softly.

She snapped out her trance as she looked up to see her father looking at her in concern.(A/N: I've decided not to make Hiashi into a real parental figure instead of a total dick.) She turned away to wipe her tears away.

"T-Tou-san, I-I didn't here you c-come in." she lied.

Hiashi sighed again. "Hinata, how much did you hear?"

Hinata gasped. She should have been more quieter.

"I-I-I…" she was cut off as her father pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Don't worry my daughter, Naruto will be alright. We just have to have faith in him."

Hinata couldn't control herself any longer and broke down in tears, in her father's arms.

"There, there, everything is going to be alright." Hiashi said, though deep inside his mind, he was mildly unsure.

'_At least I hope so. For Naruto's and Hinata's sake.'_

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(At Naruto's destroyed apartment)

Flames covered the entire apartment room. There was a gaping hole from where the ceiling was previously located. Naruto, who was currnetly unconcious, was trapped under a large piece of roof. He began to stir and opened his eyes slowly.

"W-What happened? What's goi" his queries were cut off as he began to puke up blood.

He had trouble breathing due to the blood that was starting to flow out his nose, and also a trickle of blood was streaming from the tip of his head down his face. Not to mention the smoke from the fire wasn't helping either. In short his breathing was as rasped as an old man who just came out of a nasalectomy. He had 2nd to 3rd degree burns throughout most of his body from head to toe, and most of his bones were broken from the waist down and his spine was once again fractured.

Once he ceased vomiting, he opened his eyes halfway until he glanced at what he saw and what made his eyes go wide. His only semi-safe haven, his only means of sanctuary from those ignorant, idiotic, homicidal villagers, his only home… was in shambles and flames.

"W-W-Wha WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HOME?!" He sucessfully yelled without blood-puke emitting from the back of his throught. Fresh hot tears came strolling down his face, this time not just tears of anguish, his eyes showed anger, pain, and sorrow.

'_That does it! I am going to get out of here. And when I do, there's gonna be hell to pay!'_ He thought darkly, which was surprising to his mask, the 'fool's' mask, but at this point he couldn't care less about his damn personal façade. All he wanted right now was to kill the son-of-a-bitch or sons-of-bitches who did this to him, because this was the final straw.

With his newfound motivation and resolve, he struggled to get loose from the piece of roof that was currently crushing the lower half of his body. Though it hurt like hell, he didn't care, because Fortunately for him, he was halfway to the front door. But he needed to get out of there fast cause the falling debris wasn't going to wait for him. He clawed at the splintery wooden floor get a better grappling to it. Though the floor was piping hot, and his nails were bleeding, that wasn't going to stop him. Even if the lower half of his body was torn off, he would still keep going towards the exit and he would find the people who did this to him with and break their bones, just like they did to him, only Naruto would do it with his bare hands.

"I'll kill them. I'll kill them! I'LL KILL THEM!!" he roared as he clawed his way to the front door as fast as he could.

When he finally reached it, he noticed three problems.

One: The front door was blockaded by two broken support beams from the roof.

Two: He still had a piece of roof crushing him and he needed to get it off badly.

Three: Most of his bones were broken and his skin was badly burned.

Knowing this, he didn't waste time in finding an opening from which he could slide under the roof, little by little. Eventually, he managed to set himself free.

Next came a bigger problem, his body had suffered too much pain too even limp, but he still had to do something, or he be buried six feet under. "D-Damnit, move body, MOVE!!" But his body barely responded. Little did he know his _**'tenant'**_, was impressed by his jailer's display of ferocity and tenacity of that of a beast, that _**he**_ decided to give him a little push in the right direction. After all, if Naruto died, it would mean _**his**_ death as well.

Naruto suddenly felt a burst of energy course throughout his body, enough to help him move better and sustain his painful wounds. _'W-What the hell? I'm starting to feel rejuvenated. The pain in my body doesn't hurt as it did a few minutes ago, but how?'_ He had no time to ponder this any further, for he was still in a huge amount of danger, he needed to get the hell out now or never.

With his newfound strength building up inside him, he quickly charged at the front door and battered it with all his might. Eventually the door started to chip and tear, and with Naruto's final assault, the door busts down. _'Finally. I'm out! Now I can'_ his thoughts were broken just before he could step a foot outside, he felt an unknown force attack him from behind. He felt a sharp, cold pain. He looked down at his stomach to see an outstretched bloodied kataana pierced right through the middle of his stomach. He started feeling lightheaded and began to fall forward, making his assailant pull out the blade from his body, making Naruto's blood gush out from the wound like a water fountain. Before he collapsed, he used his hands to break his fall and knelt on both knees until they buckled and layed in a pool of his own blood.

He began puking more blood than he did before, and most of it was spilling out of his wound. His throat was on fire, his and gums were redened, and blood oozed out of his mouth _'What the. Who?'_ With his last bit of strength left, he tilted his head up and started hearing footsteps circling from behind, until finally, naruto was met with a pair of what appeared to be standard ANBU shinobi sandals. He looked up further to see that his assumption was true. There was an ANBU wearing a bear mask standing above him that was bending down and reaching down to grab him.

After that, everything went black, and Naruto's last thoughts before he fell unconcious, were his everlasting thoughts that would remind him of the day his 'mask' cracked down the middle. _'I wonder will I ever dream?'_

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And that's it for the first chapter. Please review and _**politely**_ tell me what grammatical mistakes I made. **I ****WILL NOT TOLERATE HARSH CRITICISM**. Ok, good. Again for the writers of Dark Naruto fics. Please. Keep. Writing. Thank you.

HHHHh


	2. Author's note: assignment and plea

Author's note

Author's note

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Hey everybody, for those who are reading my story **Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened**; I need your help, and by help I mean advice.

My problem is, What type of dark personality and/or mannerisms should I instill into Naruto's dark character? I have a few types of personalities that the other characters have in the series, and they are among the following:

Should Naruto have…

A personality like Sasuke

A personality like Shino

A personality like Zabuza

A personality like Kyuubi

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However, these are not the only choices for the types of dark personality that you, the reader have to choose.

I assign to you, the reader, to think of any anime or movie you've seen and try to find a character's personality which emulate dark characteristics. It could be a villain or a renegade, etc. but I will _**not**_, repeat _**not**_ turn Naruto into an evil bastard. Just study the character's dark traits and be sure to be specific and detailed in each of the traits that you give me.

This is so that it can help me build a foundation on Naruto's new dark personality. And thus, that's what I need help with. In short, Helping to create Naruto's new **dark** personality. That way, it will be easier to write future chapters.

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Any ideas at all would be most helpful and I would sincerely appreciate it if you would help me, _**please**_.

Sincerely, from KennyG


	3. Chapter 2

Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened

**Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened**

Well, by the way you all reacted to the first chapter, I'd say you enjoyed it. Also considering how one of you asked why Hiashi why surprisingly concerned for Naruto's well-being. I wrote it in the A/N in Chapter 1: In my story, I made Hiashi into a real parental figure instead of the total prick he was in the series. And for those who gave me some advice on my writing in a polite manner, like I asked, I thank you and appreciate your advice. And with that said, enjoy.

/

(In the Hokage office)

The Sandaime was pacing around his office like a mainac. If he was in a walkathon, he get first place. The reason being he was doing this was because he was worried. Why was he worried? The answer was as plain as day. There was another assasination attempt on Naruto's head, this time more lethal than all the other attempts from the past. Also because it was his fault. He failed for not being able to protect Naruto, he failed in not doing anything about the council, and he had failed to fulfill his promise to his deceased successor. He was broken out his thoughts when the door flew open, and stnading there was a panting Kakashi.

"Hokage…sama." He said out of breath. "Well… did you rescue him?" asked the Sandaime. When Kakashi heard the question, the words stung him the most in his heart. He solemnly shook his head as he hanged his head in sorrowful shame.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama but, we searced every inch of that place and all we found was this." And from his pocket he pulled out the salvaged remains of Naruto's burnt and bloodied nightcap. The tip was charred black around the torn edges, and the rim was bloodied at the front.

The Sandaime slumped down in his chair, processing the information while denying the innevitable truth. "No, it can't be." He said solemnly.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, truly sorry." _'And I'm sorry Minato-sensei, Obito, Rin. I've failed you all.'_ He said in lamence. Though no one could see it, the left side of Kakashi's face was wet.

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(In some other house/apartment)

Iruka Umino was sleeping soundly, that is he would have been if there wasn't a portruding knock. With a disturbed groan, he slinked towards the door and to his surprise it was none other than the Sandaime and Kakashi, without his mask, at his door-step. "Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san. What are you doing here?" Actually not knowing why the Sandaime would be here when he is off busy doing paperwork. But then the realization came to him that the only way he could be here was that it had something to do with Naruto. And when that happens it's never good news, most likely because he gets informed of the beatings that happen from under Iruka's nose. However Usually it's Kakashi who delivers the information on the Hokage's behalf. To actually show up himself meant that something bad happened to Naruto.

His fears were confirmed as the Snadaime pulled out Naruto's nightcap in an evidence bag. "No." he shuddered. "It's not true. It can't be true!" he yelled. With his hand shaking he grabbed the evidence bag and hugged it close as if it were his own little brother and/or son. The bag was getting wet from his tears. He couldn't take it anymore as he let out an anguished yell out to the sky.

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(With Teuchi and Ayane)

Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, were just cleaning up for the night so that they could earn a well deserved good night's sleep. Then after they locked up, Ayane asked her father a question. "Father, do you think Naruto will have a better day than he did today?"

The old ramen cook gave a sad sigh. "I don't know Ayame. I really hope so, but with those damn idiots beating him like a wounded dog, I doubt that it's anytime soon." He said the last part with disgust.

Ayame then noticed a certain scar-nosed chunnin coming their way. "Iruka-kun, how are you?" She asked with a surprisingly cheery tone, however what she and her father weren't prepared for, was the upcoming news cocerning their #1, favorite customer.

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(With Naruto in someplace hidden)

Naruto began to stir as his eyes slightly opened to what was going on. Of course he could still only see shapes. As those shapes appeared to have the resemblence of humans, all he heard could only be understood as echoey, yet audible whispers.

"Is it working?" spoke a man with a slight hiss in his voice. While Naruto could see and hear the man, he could not recognize the man's face, partly because he still couldn't see clearly.

"Yes doctor, the test subject's vital signs show 100 positive." Responded another man with a calm and assured tone. The said man sported an almost maniac-like grin.He chuckled evilly as he began. "Hmhmhmhm. Excellent, then we can proceed towards the next step much earlier than expected." He pulled out a small handheld device, to which he began talking into it. "Journal entry #1: Test subject's wounds have healed exponentially. This will help further our research and experiments on said subject. Thus I christen this experiment codename, **Project: Kyuubi.** Continuing further analysis until further notice. Ending journal entry." And then Naruto blacked out again.

(An hour later)

Naruto awoke dazily. His eyes started opening fully and he could finally see clearly again. "Ugh, I feel like I got hit with a sledgehammer, non-stop." He looked to his sides to look at his surrounding environment. However this room was different from his "Eh? Where am I?" He groaned as he sat up from what appeared to be a bed. But he looked to see that it wasn't his bed. This surprised him because the bed he was lying on was not the usual crappy, shoddy, and ratty mattress that he had to make do in his apartment.

His eyes widened in realization as to what happened to him earlier. He gritted his teeth in anger as he recalled what had become of his only sanctity. "That's right, it was those damned villagers." He whispered harshly. "They did it. They did it! THEY WERE ALWAYS THE ONES WHO CAUSED ME SO MUCH PAIN!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, as he slammed his fist into a nearby wall. Little did he know that little outburst made a wreckingball-sized crater in the wall. That got got Naruto's attention as he wittnessed what he did. He then glanced toward his fist to see that there wasn't a scratch on it. "What's happening to me?" His queries were interuppted as he heard the door unlock and two ANBU were standing in the doorway.

"On your feet demon. Danzou-sama requests your presence." Stated the ANBU on his left. Naruto didn't know how to react to the situation. But then he saw the Anbu on his right and immediately recognized him as the one who stabbed him.

His eyes flashed with rage as he pointed to the said man. "YOU!! I remember you, you tried to kill me me by using me as a pin cushion!!"

The anbu on his left raised an eyebrow behind his mask in curiousity. "Oi, Kurorugi, is that right, you tried to kill him?" asked the first ANBU "Yeah, that's right Genshi. But I also blew up his home." He responded with a smug and amusing tone in his voice. However one thing the fool should have realized, is never underestimate Naruto epecially when he gets angry. Naruto ran up to the ANBU shinobi and attempted to fight them off, but seeing as how his taijutsu style was as bad as a drunkard smoking crack, it wasn't much of a struggle and he ended up pinned down on floor.

They both decided that they have had their fun, but it was time to bring them to their leader. "Get up demon brat. Our master hates tardiness." The man named Genshi said as they grabbed him and started dragging him as a prisoner.

As they made their way through the vast, dark hallways, Naruto looked around to find that there were different people in different types of cells, some were for incarceration, most however were for torture and/or experimentation purposes. Just as they passed by the experiment cells, Naruto nearly jumped when a something was plastered against the visible window. It was a man, or it at least it looked like a man.The skin of his face and upper torso looked like it was stitched, sagged and wrinkled. It looked like he was bleeding from opened incisions. It seems he was trying to break through the window by constantly slamming himself towards it, but there were two ANBU holding him from behind.

"GOOD GOD, HELP ME!!" He yelled as a shinobi behind him began to drag him back to an operating table, this caused the man to claw at the window making bloodied hand prints appear along it. "No, NO, NO!! PLEASE NOO!!" His cried but his pleas were drowned out as a sliding metallic door covered the windows and the door.

Naruto just stood there shocked and terrified at what he had seen. However he had no time to ponder about it further as the ANBU agents roughly pushed him to keep him moving. Naruto took one last glance behind him as memories of what he just saw would haunt him.

They continued walking to their destination and Naruto could hear more screams echoing throughout the halls and it tore him up from the inside of mind.

'What is this horrible place? I-Is…Is this Hell?' his thoughts were broken off as they had reached the entrance to their master.

Both ANBU knocked on the door, and was responded with an old voice laced with false kidness.

"Come in." said Danzou. A they entered, Naruto saw a decrepit old man who was bandaged from head to toe with wrinkled beady eyes, and an expression on his face that said 'I'm superior to all that no matter how old I am, I'll always be the best dictator ever.'

"Ah, Naruto Uzumaki, I've been expecting you." He said in an amused, arrogant tone. Naruto just simply glared at the man until he received a punch in the gut from one of the ANBU, knocking the wind out of him.

"Show some respect to Danzou-sama, demon-brat!" Naruto responded by spitting at the the ANBU's masked face, which in turn infurated him and was about to reach for his katanna until Danzou stopped him. "Enough, we need to give our _guest_ 'proper treatment'. He said with a smirk. "After all, it's the least we can do after we destroyed his home."

At this statement something inside naruto snapped as he immediately lashed out towards the crippled old man, but not until said old man took out a small controller and pressed the button on it. Once he did, Naruto felt electricity surge throughout his body as it was wracked with pain. He collapsed onto the floor as some small shockwaves were limiting his ability to move. Danzou grabbed his cane and began to walk in baby steps towards him.

"Now, now Naruto, we can't have you running rampant throughout here so I had my scientists install a small electric module so that you can obey my orders without question or I just press this little button and 1,000 volts will zap throughout your entire body from head to toe. Normally people wouldn't survive 1,000 volts of pure electricity biting at their every nerve.(A/N: Truth be told, I don't know how many volts does it take to kill someone so I'm just gonna take a shot in the dark.) Except your not an ordinary boy, You have the Kyuubi no Youko sealed within you."

When Naruto had listened to what Danzou had said, he couldn't believe his ears, he couldn't believe the information that had entered his already distraught mind. However, now he started putting the pieces together to the answer that had been right under his nose. The beatings, the torture, the hateful glares, and the pain he felt both physically and mentally. He then remembered the time he snuck a glance at the seal on his stomach whenever he channeled his chakra.

'_So this…this is the reason why I am treated like a social pariah. This is why I've suffered at the hands of these insufferable villagers!'_ He then shouted out the last part of his thoughts as he exploded with rage.

"**THIS IS WHY I AM HATED!!"** he shouted with a demonic tone in his voice. And at that moment his 'mask' shattered and any remnant of false hope and happiness was gone.

Suddenly A burst of red chakra engulfed him as he pushed off the ANBU guards and threw them to a wall behind Danzou making human-shaped craters as they slid to the ground. Danzou's eye widened as he looked back to see the 'fruits of his labor' come to pass. As he turned his head back, he was met with two crimson-red slitted angry eyes.

"**If you knew about my past why didn't you bother to do something about it?!"** Naruto shouted. His response was that same smug smile on the warhawk's face.

"Oh I intended to do something about that, and by that I mean turn you into the ultimate weapon that I can use to overthrow Konoha and bring it under my rule."

He was responded with a loogie to his face which infuriated Danzou, so he grabbed the remote and pressed the button, sending a fresh wave of pain that hit Naruto that caused him to slump to the ground writhing in agony. He was then met with a foot to his face as Danzou began pushing his weight on it.

"You _**will**_ obey me, and you _**will**_ kill that fool Sarutobi."

Naruto turned his head and growled. **"You harm him and I'll make sure that not even the crows will find your filthy remains, you decrepit old man!"**

Danzou merely scoffed.

"Guards." He spoke. Just then four new ANBU guards came to restrain Naruto at once.

"Since our guest is choosing to be ill-mannered, I demand you send him to the labs and begin _teaching_ him some manners." He said as he smirked.

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(A few hours later in Naruto's cell)

Naruto was trembling on the floor in a fetal position while clutching his body from the shocks and surgical incisions. He could feel his mind tearing itself apart at the seams as what was left of his sanity was breaking into pieces. Then he started to experience memories of what resulted in his broken mind.

(Flashback)

"Demon!" One villager said as he repeatedly impaled him with a pitchfork.

(Second Flashback)

"Monster!"

(Third Flashback)

"Kyuubi-spawned filth!!"

(End of Flashbacks)

All of those memories that Naruto had locked away with his 'mask' had came flooding into him until he let out an agonized scream. After that, everything went black.

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(In Naruto's Mindscape)

Naruto opened his eyes to see that he wasn't in his cell or in Danzou's audience room. No, he was somewhere else, someplace he had never seen or been before.

It was a room filled with pipes that were of all shapes and sizes attached to the walls beside him and the on ceiling above him. Then he noticed that his feet felt soggy and wet. He looked down to see that the whole floor was flooded with water. But what caught his eye more was what appeared to be a 100ft tall cage with parchment that read 'seal' attached to the middle of the it. In his natural curiousity he tooks a few steps forward, until a pair of great big, crimson-red eyes with black slits snapped wide open and a giant feral grin appeared before him.

There was a short pause between the two until the entity opened it's enormous mouth and began to speak.

"**You, kit, come closer so I can get a good look at you."** He growled.

Naruto took a another few steps towards the cage, only to have a monster-sized claw shoot out, with merely inches in front of his face. To entity's surprise he saw that the boy had not moved an inch. And to his greater surprise, the boy merely cocked his head to the side.

The entity was surprised and impressed yet again. Even the most seasoned shinobi would soil themselves if he tried that.

The blonde then stepped up towards the cage and as he ignorred the entity, he just touched the bars on his cage.

While darting his eyes in fascination with the cage, he spoke to the entity.

"So, you're the Kyuubi huh?" he said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Said bjuu's eye twitched. **"That's Kyuubi no Youko ningen!! ****I am the Lord of Hell itself and King of all Demons!! Show some respect!!" **

Naruto let out a dark chuckle. "You know, that sentence comes with a magic word. Do you know what that word is, hmm?"

This infuriated Kyuubi to no end, but he then he realized that it was him who called him here so he calmed his anger to an extent that he wouldn't continue clawing him.

"**As much as I would like to rip you apart and eat you bones and all, the reason I have called you here is because your mind is in peril and if we don't do something, your mind will deteriorate into nothing. Which means I'll have no place to be connected to the seal, meaning that the sealing process will be erradicated and then we both die."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest and cracked a disturbing smile(much like Near's smile.) and let out another chuckle.

"Well I guess I'll see you in limbo then huh?"

Kyuubi sighed exasperatedly. _**'He is defintely a head case this one. Oh, well. No use crying over spilled milk. Perhaps now would be a good time to help him. After all, I refuse to have a weak container.'**_

"**Listen kit, you're going to have to get stronger, and lucky for you, I myself will be willing to personally train you."**

Naruto cocked his to the side and asked "What's in it for me?"

"**Kit, I've seen what these foolish villagers have done to you, and to be honest kit, I lament for your burden. No one should have to go through this kind of torture. I've kept you alive all these years, though each attack gets more brutal and harder to heal your wounds. But after what I've seen in today's actions towards you, I speak the truth without regarding my own needs, your tenacity and courage deserve that much. So tell me boy what is it that you truly desire, and I will help you get it."**

"Okay, what I want is…" Naruto paused then continued. "Revenge. Revenge against those pitiful parasites of Konoha, and to kill Danzou and turn his entire organization into nothing but the ashes under my feet." Naruto declared in a harsh tone.

Kyuubi smirked. **"Well said, kit, well said. Now tear off the seal and embrace true power!!"**

He humbly obliged and did what he was told. There was a sound of a torn paper and then silence. The next thing Naruto recalled before blacking out was a primal roar emenating form both his and Kyuubi's mouth.

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(The next day at Naruto's funeral)

The Sandaime hosted a funeral in honor of Naruto's death. For dealing with so much pain in his life, for a burden he did not ask for.

Not only were most of the adults there, but all of the Academy students were there as well, just as he planned. It was time to tell them the truth of Naruto.

"Everyone we are gathered here today in honor of one of the greatest heroes Konoha has ever seen. Now I know what you're all wondering, 'what has he done to deserve that title.' Well, allow me to tell you how it became this way." He said solemly.

"It all began in Kyuubi attack 11 years ago. As you all know the Yondaime sacrificed himself to save us from it's rampage by killing it right?"

Some of the genin nodded before the Sandaime spoke out again.

"Wrong a demon can not be killed a human, much less the Lord of Hell himself. The Yondaime knew he wouldn't stand a chance against him until one day he made a pact with the Shinigami." Collected gasps ran throughout most of the people. "The Shinigami allowed the Yondaime to summon him in exchange for his soul to wander in his stomach for all enternity. The Shinigami being also a master of spirits, was able to pull The Kyuubi's soul from out of it's body while the yondaime sealed it into a newborn infant since only a newborn baby with still developing chakra coils was able to sustain it's chakra without dying, but he couldn't ask for any of the villagers newborn, so instead he placed the burden on his son." There was another set of gasps and some surprised murmuring with one another until the Sandaime silenced them before continuing.

"That boy, his son, is the one who been branded with names such as 'dead-last', 'dobe', 'monster', and 'demon-spawn'. Something you all are very familiar with." He said in an accusing tone.

It was then that the entire genin class knew who it was as they all felt a surge of guilt in the pit of their stomachs, for they knew that they were partially responsible for pushing him away and taunting him.

Hinata feeling the most despaired, broke down in tears for what she didn't know about him or his suffering.

The Sandaime spoke once again. "So now you all know, that boy was Naruto Uzumaki. He's had to deal with the burden of being the Kyuubi's container." He then gave a glare to the adults. "And all of you have cursed him, beaten him, even when he was on the ground, you kicked him while he down! How many times must you get it through your thick skulls?! He is the _**container**_, not the Kyuubi incarnate or some monster!!" Half of the adults shifted uncomfortably while the others lowered their heads in shame. "He was still a human being!! And don't say you are not responsible! For it was all of you who refused to help him! It was you who poisoned the minds of your children by forcing them to have nothing to do with him!!" he shouted while releasing some killer intent to keep them frozen in place. It was at that time that the Academy girls had tears streaming down their faces for this shocking, revealing truth.

The old Hokage recollected himself and continued. "He has been alone for most of his life. I've had to keep an eye on him to make sure nothing bad happened to him. In the meantime, few of my most trusted ANBU had kept a watch on him as well, due to the fact that as Hokage, I had to tend to other issues that were just as important. To him I was one of the only few people that was about as close to a family that he never had. And so I would like you all to share a moment of silence with me in honor of Naruto, the hero of our village."

All of Naruto's classmates gladly obliged as they lamented for Naruto and hoped for forgiveness in anyway possible.

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Well that's it for the second chapter. I would like to take this time to thank my viewers for their ideas for Naruto's new personality. In the third chapter he will begin to show his **dark side**. So anyway, please review, and remember **NO HARSH CRITICISM** 'kay? Good.


	4. Chapter 3

**Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened**

Hey everybody sorry if it took a bit long to post this new chapter, it's just well… I've been in school for at 4 weeks since I went back to school and into my senior year, and let me tell you, those teachers are some real sadistic S.O.B's!!

Anyway here's the chapter and enjoy. Oh, and I don't own Naruto.

"Speaking"

'_thoughts'_

"**Demon/Summoning speaking"**

'_**Demon/Summoning thoughts'**_

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(A year and half later)

Things changed considerably since Naruto's funeral. At least half of the adults in Konoha were gradually changed as they held a newfound respect for the deceased boy-hero of Konoha. They began apologizing to their kids for falsely misjudging Naruto and that they should do the same whenever they visited his grave… they believed he deserved that much.

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(At Naruto's grave)

A raven-haired teen in white cargo pants, bandaged legs, sleeved arms(I'm not sure what you call those on his arms. Sorry.)and a blue turtleneck shirt, was standing in front of the grave of the dobe. Ever since the funeral and the learning of Naruto's true past, he had constantly berated himself because he was the only one who had suffered more than he had than the massacre of his clan.

Sasuke however, finally saw the difference in their past and present. Sasuke's trauma started when his brother, Itachi Uchiha nearly wiped out their clan including their parents and left only him alive. But what was nearly the breaking point for him, was that Itachi made him view all of their deaths and how they died, while he was only at a tender age of 8. The aftermath of the slaughter left him and his brother, unfortunately, the only survivors of the Uchiha clan. Ever since that day a majority of people practically worshipped the ground he walked upon. Probably because he wanted part of the glory so most of the families tried to persuade him to marry their daughters, just so they could bear the children of his seed.

Sasuke inwardly shuddered with dread at the thought of his fangirls trying to rape him in his sleep.

Of course at that time or ever he didn't care about what the people thought of him and that no one could understand him. Boy was he wrong. Naruto had a better understanding of isolation _**with**_ a mixture of abuse and hatred toward him. And by the villager's no less!

'_How could these idiotic villagers not see the difference between a human and a demon?' he thought angerly. But sighed in resignation. 'But was I any better?'_

He was wrapped up in his own obsession of vegeance, that he didn't see that there was another who suffered more than he did.

'_He always kept on smiling, when in reality it was just a mask. He was suffering physically and mentally, and all for something that was completely out of his power!'_

From ontop of the hill of Naruto's grave, Sasuke took a good look at the Hokage Monument and darted to the one he considered not worthy to be Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime. His eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"WAS IT WORTH IT?! WAS IT WORTH IT TO SAVE THESE UNGRATEFUL, DISTASTEFUL VILLAGERS BY DAMNING YOUR ONLY SON TO LIFE OF HELL, HUH?!!" He yelled.

He took a deep breath as he turned his head back to Naruto's headstone. His eyes turned from anger to sadness.

"I wonder, if I had known about your secret somehow, do you think you and I could have been friends?" He said solemnly. Suddenly he herd a twig snap. With fast reflexes he pulled a kunai out of his holster. "Who's there?!" He shouted.

"It's me Sasuke-kun." Spoke a soft voice and out of the bushes, was Sakura Haruno, the "brain" of the class. Her long pink hair that reached just passed her shoulders to her upper back. Plus, she had a red bandana tied into a bow at the top of her. She wore a red chinese dress with white circles that reached up to her knees while the sides were slit upwards, revealing black shorts with a kunai holster on her left thigh. She had green eyes and creamy skin and a pleasant aura around her that Sasuke found very soothing.

He lowered his weapon and let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, Sakura. Sorry about that."

"Ah…No-no! I mean you don't have to apologize, I was the one that startled you."

"Ah." He replied. An uncomfortable tension filled the air until Sasuke saw that the kunoichi was carrying something, a plastic bag.

Sakura noticed this. "A-Ano…I brought some ramen from Ichiraku." She sat down and pulled out three covered bowls of ramen.

"Would you like some Sasuke-kun? I brought your favorite." She offered.

Sasuke gave a small smile and took her offer. "Sure, thanks."

Before they sat down on the comfy grass, Sakura pulled out the third ramen bowl.

"Sakura, who's the third bowl for?" Sakura turned to face him and gave him a sad smile.

"This one's…for Naruto." She said sadly.

Sasuke gave a small gasp but then gave a nod of understanding. Sakura placed the bowl near the headstone as to pay her respects and forgiveness for the boy she would constantly shun. But after learning his secret, her opinion of him changed a full 180 as she regretted everyday for the harsh treatment she put on him.

As they ate Sasuke had a memory of when he and Sakura became friends. When everything changed for both of them.

_**(Flashback)**_

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In the afternoon, hours after Naruto's funeral and burial, Sasuke was running through the streets, tears of sadness and anger rolled down his cheeks. He ran past various groups of people, most of which were celebrating because the death of the 'Kyuubi-brat'. A few others like Ichiraku and Ayame(If I spelled her name wrong in the last chapter, I'm sorry.)were extremely sad at the death of their favorite customer, one they considered family.

He ran faster and faster until he finally reached his headstone. He slumped on his knees and elbows as he yelled in anguish. "DAMNIT NARUTO!! YOU WERE SUFFERING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US AND I HADN'T REALIZED THAT I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU!!" He yelled then whispered in a shaky voice. "And I'm just at fault as these biggoted idiots.

He continued to sob, but not before a familiar pink-haired girl approached him. Sasuke saw her and went defensive. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" he yelled.

Sakura winced at that but that didn't stop her from comforting someone she cared about.

"It's my fault too Sasuke-kun." She said in a broken voice. Dried tear-stains on her cheek showed that she was crying a lot. Fresh tears were welling up again.

Sasuke saw something in her eyes he had never seen in any of his fangirls. She was not using any fickle emotions at all, she showed actual lamence for the boy and guilt for treating him so shamefully. She told her crush that she felt angry and sad. Angry at herself and the villagers for treating him like shit when they should have honored him as a hero. And sad because she felt so useless and pathetic.

Sasuke's anger dissapated as he walked toward the trembling girl in front of him and did something he or she never expected. He embraced her and held her.

He then whispered something in her ear that made her heart at ease.

"Well that's something we have in common; we both lost a person we care about by our own hands."

Sakura broke down and sobbed in his arms while Sasuke stroked her hair. He never realized that this once crazed fan-girl of his, was actually caring for someone that wasn't him and she was in deep pain. He knew that pain as well. Anguish and karma were real bitches.

And from that day forward, Sakura had changed from a fan-girl bitch, to a thoughtful person that had been locked away for a long time and she would make sure Sasuke would never be alone. Whether she knew it or not, she had become Sasuke's light to illuminate his dark path of loneliness.

_**(Flashback end)**_

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Sasuke reminisced that memory fondly as he finished his ramen. Ever since then Sakura was the only one he would let in at the Uchiha Compound. They would often be seen walking throughout the village and sat next to each other in the Academy. She had been the only true friend for him in his premature lifetime.

Then Sakura snapped her head up. "Sasuke-kun what time is it?"

He pulled his sleeve to look at his watch. His eyes widened at the time.

"Oh crap, we're gonna be late!" _'But luckily I know a shortcut!'_ He smirked.

"Come on Sakura." He exclaimed as he grabbed her hand causing the pink-haired girl to blush.

20 minutes later, they arrived to the classroom, only for their favorite scarred teacher, Iruka to scold them.

"Sasuke, Sakura. You're both late." He said looking at them with a stern expression. A few students snickered.

"Care to explain?"

Sakura was the first to apologize. "We're sorry Iruka-sensei, we were… visiting Naruto."

At the mention of his name, the snickering ceased and most started to look downcast. But none were as depressed as Hinata Hyuuga. To say she looked terrible was an understatement, she was a wreck. She looked positively zombified. She would cry at night all night long of how her love, that's right _**love**_, had been killed. Both Sasuke and Sakura tried to cheer her up, but to no avail. Her father had little to no success either, though she tries to work hard it seems to him that she had only used half her potential, which was provoking the Hyuuga elders in the main branch family to force him to either have her prepared for the genin exams, or she would be disowned.

Hiashi was furious that the old fools would consider such an option. So he tried to motivate her by telling her about Naruto and how he would never give up, but she ended up breaking down in tears. This had Hiashi even more concerned and worried. Oh how he wished his wife was still alive. She would know how to help.

As they both sat down in the front, Iruka was the first to shake out of his stupor.

"Eh-uh..Anyway, today class we have a new student." This bit of news got everyone's attention as Iruka got out a card. "This new student may be from a close-by town near Konoha, but he has skills of a shinobi, so let us make him feel welcome." Everyone was unresponsive.

Then suddenly the door slid opened, Iruka turned his head.

"Ah, here he is…now?" he asked tentatively.

The figure stepped in and everyone's eyes widened. He looked positively terrifying. The once pleasant atmosphere in the room had been turned cold and dark. He wore light brown cloak, that reached just below his nose, which was torn at the bottom edges and had stitches large and small all over with a short overcloak that was extended over his arms. The top of his head was concealed by a large raggedy, mud-brown hat that was also torn and the tip of it had extended into a crooked curve until it came to crooked swirl.(think of Final Fantasy 8's Vivi's hat only more sinister as your mind can imagine.)The finishing touch was a just as raggedy mask. And although no one could see it, a large stitch was cut into the facial feature of the mouth are as it reached all the way up on both sides of the mask. It was as if someone had sewn a very crooked, twisted smile. The only thing that was not concealed by the collar of his cloak or his large hat were his eyes, but the eyeholes were so dark, no one could see if there was an actual living person in there or not. Just pitch black darkness. His feet were also not concealed. They were steel toed combat boots that looked somewhat 'Frankensteinish'.

Every step he took was a heavy one and there was a sort of jangling sound as he moved.

'_It sounds like…chains?'_ Sasuke pondered as the figure walked toward their teacher.

Said figure stopped in front of Iruka and lifted up his left arm slowly. His arm appeared to be in a black spiked gaunlet with chains wrapped around it and short silver claws attatched to the fingertips. In between his forefinger and thumb was a small piece of paper. Iruka took it cautiously and read it out loud.

"So your name is Scarecrow?" he asked unsurely. The figure responded with a slow nod.

"Heh, not much of a talker are you." He said with a nervous chuckle. Scarecrow remained silent.

"Heh-heh. Anywho, why don't you sit…(Damn it's getting crowded in here. Aha!)over there, beside Hinata." Everyone's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates with looks that said 'Are you serious?! She'll be eaten alive or something!!'

Scarecrow nodded again and made his way up the steps toward the last row on his left, making those heavy stomping, chain-rattling noise. He reached the desk and looked down at the frightened girl.

When Hinata looked up hesitantly she was met with his black eyeholes. At first, she was filled with fear, but somehow, even without the Byakugan, she could peer into his soul and faintly see someone she had thought lost, someone she had been dead for a long time. But she pushed that aside, thinking her mind was playing tricks on her.

Scarecrow sat down slowly and put his clawed hands into a thinking position.

Seeing as how the introductions were made, Iruka continued teaching for the rest of the day. A little after 3:00 in the afternoon, class was dismissed, and Scarecrow exited ahead of everyone first, keeping ten paces between himself and the group due to the fact that they were pretty intimidated by the newcomer.

However the dog-nin, Kiba Inuzuka, either being very brave or very stupid, aggresively walked up to Scarecrow to show him just who 'top dog' was in the academy.

"Hey! Hey buddy!" Scarecrow stopped in his tracks. "Do you wear that mask cause you like Halloween, or are just butt-ugly." He smirked. His partner, Akamaru, on the other hand was whimpering at the terrifying figure in front of both of them, but Kiba payed it to no heed.

Scarecrow turned around and walked calmly until he was at arm's length away from him and Kiba decided to tell him off some more. "What? Are you just retarded or something? Is that why you can't…" He didn't get to finish the sentence as Scarecrow tapped him on his forehead with his finger. Then he turned back and walked away. Kiba was confused but then got angry and pursued him while clenching his fist, ready to beat the living crap out of him.

"Hey! HEY! Don't you walk away from…" but once again he didn't finish the sentence as his eyes widened, he skin turned white as a sheet and he started to shake convulsively. One of the students walked up to him to see if he was alright, but the whole class was defeaned by a blood-curdling scream. It was from Kiba, and it looked like he went insane with fear.

The most of the class was in shock, no one knew what happened, this new student managed to shut Kiba's mouth full of shit and made him start spewing it up. Akamaru was nudging at his master, getting him to stand up

Sasuke, Sakura, were the first to act and went to see what had happened to Kiba, who was currently in a fetal position. They heard him whispering inadubily. They got closer to listen what he was speaking.

"T-T-T-The n-nightmares. M-Make them stop. M-Make them stop."

Iruka, who heard the commotion put away the student's papers and ran out of the classroom to see what had happened. He saw all the students gather in a small circle.

"Alright, what's with all the ruckus!" He yelled, while the students who noticed his presence, moved out of his way.

Iruka's eyes went wide as he kneeled to where Sasuke and Sakura were trying to get Kiba to snap out of whatever genjutsu he was under, but to no avail.

He pointed his head towards the two academy students.

"What happened?"

"After we all left the classroom, we saw Kiba making an ass of himself to show Scarecrow who 'ran things' around here." Sakura responded while rolling her eyes in disgust at the whimpering dog-ninja.

Sasuke showed a quick smirk on his face at Sakura's comment but his expression turned serious as he continued where she left off.

"But when he tried to confront him, Scarecrow just tapped him on the forehead and walked away." He finished.

Iruka nodded and went to look for Scarecrow and give him a serious tounge lashing for placing one of his students in a genjutsu.

Sasuke and Sakura were told by their teacher to get their classmate to the infirmary.

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(The Sandaime's office)

Old Sarutobi furrowed his eyes to the scene that just played out in his crystal ball. This newcomer was said to have come from a town close to Konoha, but while he looked to see if he was some sort of spy, he went to check his file only to find that it had the basic credentials, so he checked out. Though the information was as discrete as the Aburame clan files. He told the Council of his concerns, but few actually respected them.

He looked back into his crystal ball and tried to find his chakra signature, only to find that there was no trace of it whatsoever. It was like the mysterious Scarecrow had disappeared out of nowhere. And that's just what Sarutobi had perceived him to be, a mysterious enigma. An enigma that would be carefully viewed under the Sandaime's watchful eyes whenever he made himself known.

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(In ANBU Root)

Danzou was in a great mood. Hell, he hadn't been this happy in years. The resons why he was so happy? 1. Project K's experimentations and grueling training had been progressing thoroughly. 2. Because of this he was able to move forward with the plan faster than expected. 3. Everything would fall into place and he would overthrow that sentimental old fool Sarutobi, and rule throughout Konoha with an iron fist and then the world would be his for the taking. All thanks to the Kyuubi-brat, Naruto Uzumaki.

But speaking of which, said boy was strangely quiet. He had no dark sarcasm filled in his voice. He gave no screaming pain to the operation. Just dead, dark blue, souless eyes.

At first, Danzou had been suspicious of this, but he pushed that away. He didn't care if the boy ended becoming the Kyuubi himself! As long as he was under his control,that's all that mattered.

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(Somplace hidden in Konoha)

Scarecrow had taken the first step into bringing forth his plan. And that was to destroy ANBU Root, expose the village for it's corruption of the council and cruelty of the villagers and ninja hidden under their peaceful facade to the Lord of Fire, expose Danzou for his illegal organization and treason to the village and the Lord of Fire, and finally, _**kill**_ Danzou.

A dark, guttural chuckle could be heard only from him.

"**Well done kit."** Said Kyuubi.

Scarecrow responded in a smooth matured voice.

"I thought I told you before. The boy you refer to as _'kit'_ is dead." He said in a cold tone.

Kyuubi raised and eyebrow.

"It's Scarecrow now, the Master of Fear!" he exclaimed as red, orbs shone in the dark eyeholes of his mask, revealing crismon red balls of fire.

Kyuubi chuckled again as he responded.

"**Well said, Naruto."**

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Okay I have good news and bad news.

First the bad news. I'm going to Venezuela for Christmas break. To visit the family, see the sights. And my parents told me I have to leave my laptop here. So I'm sorry. But I will return and I will bring another new chapter.

Good news, I finally completed this chapter. So please review and remember **NO HARSH CRITICISM.**

So Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!


	5. Chapter 4

**Happiness Lost Rage Awakened**

Seriously though sorry about the late chapter, it's mostly due to the fact that my S.O.B teachers saw it fit to bring down the hammer on us with a mountain of tests, quizzes and homework every single day of the week! Yikes! Well anyway it's here and enjoy. Oh and for future references and future chapters ahead, I don't own any creatures from Harry Potter, Metalocalypse, Fable, Soul Calibur or Lord of the Rings. And I don't own Naruto.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon/Entity Speaking"**

'_**Demon/Entity Thinking'**_

'Jutsu/**Demonic or Dark Jutsu'**(Translation)

So like I said enjoy.

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It had been a few months since the newcomer, Scarecrow, had set foot into the Academy classroom and he already got most of the student/faculty scared shitless.

The raggedy-nin had imposed quite a reputation after he put the dog nin, Kiba Inuzuka in his place. Ever since then, whenever he heard Akamaru whimper and hide in his coat like he did last time, he would be seen running for the hills, because that's when Scarecrow would arrive on the scene.

Shino Aburame, the bug-shinobi, he tried to use his insects to examine the raggedy-nin. But to his shock, he could feel his bugs trembling with fear. He couldn't understand what they feared of Scarecrow, but it was clear that he needed to be careful when dealing with the mysterious shinobi.

The blonde, Ino Yamanaka, practically stayed out Scarecrow's way while she managed not to say anything to piss the very intimidating shinobi lest she ended up like Kiba.

Shikamaru Nara, the laziest underachiever ever, was perplexed by this newcomer. He had only stepped in classroom for a few seconds and he had already scared the crap out of most of the academy students. And though he couldn't put his finger on it, he had sworn that he had sensed a familiar presence in him.

Chouji Akiminchi, the glutton, was just as curious as his lazy genius of a best friend, but he just chose to ignore it as he continued to eat his bag of barbecue-flavored chips.

Iruka, Sakura and Sasuke had kept a close eye on him from a certain level to make sure that he wasn't some sort of spy.

Hinata started to feel some strange sense of comfort coming from the terrifying figure. She could somehow see into that sinister-looking mask and pitch black eyeholes, and peer into a little of his soul. For some odd reason she found a small hint of kindness and felt her confidence rise a bit. And if that wasn't weird enough, she started to blush again which shocked herself the most because she would only blush like that whenever she was around Naruto. So she decided that she would also be wary of him but she wanted to get to know him as well.

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(The Sandaime's office)

Hiruzen Sarutobi was pacing around his office looking at the scattered papers on his desk. Some were identification photos of Scarecrow with a question mark written on it. He had been trying to figure out the enigma known as Scarecrow for practically 5 months and so far he had come up with nothing.

He sighed. _'Maybe I should file this under the Unknown Documents. After all I've been watching his movements and he's done nothing but disappears from one place and reappears in another. I thought he was trying to contact our enemy villages as a spy. But no outside forces have come in even when I kept the security on high alert and made sure there was no panic among the villagers. He's like a ghost that does nothing but wander around endlessly.'_ He thought as he finished putting away the file in the cabinet marked 'Unknown'.

Then he began to ponder. _'I wonder though what does he seek here in Konoha?'_

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(Konoha Academy)

Almost the whole class was chatting away before Iruka could try out his patented 'Big Head-no-Jutsu' which he did so.

"HEY!! EVERYONE SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He was pleased to see them obey but lifted an eyebrow in confusion as to why the class room was deathly quiet and appeared to be frightened. He then noticed that they were looking in the direction of the door on Iruka's left-hand side. His expression turned to fear as he saw Scarecrow standing in the doorway.

He then looked at the clock. He saw that Scarecrow was on time.

"Uh, well, good morning Scarecrow." He said nervously. Once again, said shinobi was silent.

"Well…I hope you studied and trained well because this week…" he turned towards the class with a smile. "Is our finals week!" he said proudly while most of the students talked about it amongst their elated whispers of finally becoming full-fledged ninja.

Scarecrow went to take his usual seat next to Hinata. She blushed as he took his regular thinking position. She fidgeted a bit before opening her mouth to say something.

"A-Ano…g-good luck S-Scarecrow-san." She stuttered.

At this comment of praise, Scarecrow turned his head to glance in her direction which caused her blush to deepen a bit. And then something uttered from the raggedy shinobi that caused everyone, even Iruka their eyes widening to the size of dinner plates and their jaws dropping on either the desks or the floor, while Shino nearly faltered out of his usual emotionless face.

"Arigatou, Hinata-san." He answered in a surprisingly smooth, calm tone of voice. (A/N: For those who saw that movie 'Batman Begins', imagine Jonathan Crane's voice without his Scarecrow mask. Naruto will have that voice from now on.)

Everyone was still stunned until Ino's voice broke the silence.

"WHAT THE HELL?!! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU COULD TALK ALL THIS TIME?!! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE A MUTE!!!" She screeched while pointing an accusing finger towards him.

"I saw no reason to speak until now." He responded with the same tone.

At that, the scarred chunin, and most of the students except for Shino, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura (though they were pretty close to it.), face-faulted on the floor.

They got up again and wondered what more unexpected surprises from him.

In Scarecrow's head a familiar chuckle echoed in his mind.

"**I couldn't be prouder kit; you've finally caught a girl's eye. And she has the makings of a potential mate."** Said Kyuubi.

Scarecrow only internally sighed in frustration. _'What the hell are you going on about now?'_

Kyuubi roared with laughter. **"Wow, do I have a lot to teach you, my young apprentice."**

Underneath his mask Scarecrow rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe that the devil himself was going to give him advice on women.

As soon as they all calmed down, Iruka continued on with today's lesson plan, though everyone else was still dazed at Scarecrow actually able to speak. Of course that just scared them more than ever.

When the class ended, Scarecrow exited the class first only to vanish the minute he closed the door. The others followed soon after he was gone, but most of them didn't care as long as he was gone until tomorrow.

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(With Sasuke and Sakura)

The two walked through the streets; Sasuke couldn't help but notice that the pink-haired girl was looking a little worried.

"Sakura." He called out to get her attention. As a result her head snapped up and realized that she was daydreaming.

"Oh, sorry. What were you saying Sasuke-kun?" She asked hoping he wouldn't notice her awkward disposition.

Sasuke sighed. "Sakura, you don't have to hide anything, I'm your friend, remember that."

She frowned as her eyes suddenly took interest in the ground.

"It's just…" she sighed sadly. "Sasuke-kun, do you think I'm good enough to be a ninja, I mean I know what there is to know about the basics and everything, but what if I can't be a good ninja? What if I'm a burden to you?" She said in a sad tone.

The raven-haired Uchiha grasped her arms firmly so that she could face him. She did so and was met by a stern expression.

"Listen to me Sakura!" He commanded. "You. Are. Not. A. Burden to me! Over the past year my opinion of you has changed greatly just as yours has about me, because we talked to each other. Soon I trusted you enough to tell you of my past and what happened at the massacre. And you chose to abandon your false identity and showed me that you aren't what I thought you were. No, I see you for who you truly are and not for the girl you pretended to be! You are skilled kunoichi. I know that because we've spent time training together, so that's why I know that you'll pass." He finished in a softer tone.

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Sasuke Uchuha, the former angsty brooder, was praising his first friend. Though deep down she still had strong feelings for him, she knew that he really needed right now was her friendship, and that was good enough for her.

Her shocked expression turned into a smile.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun. I really needed the pep talk." He scratched her chin in embarrassment.

"Yes you did." He replied in mockingly stern tone.

Sasuke smiled at her but then realized that he still had his hands on her slender, smooth skin of her arms. He blushed lightly. _'Her skin is so soft and she looks cute when she smiles.'_ He thought.

Sakura then noticed his arms were still on her and she blushed a bit darker than his. He quickly released his hold on her and there was an awkward silence between the two as they looked away from each other, hoping to hide the crimson color in their cheeks.

After that moment they decided to eat at Ichiraku's.

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(Hyuuga Estate)

Hiashi was somewhat happy. He was happy because his daughter was progressing well in her Jyuuken(Gentle Fist). Hanabi had shown promise as well. He couldn't help but feel proud of his daughters.

After practice he decided to take them out with him to go to their favorite restaurant for dinner.

He really loved his daughters as much as he loved his wife and he would do anything for them to be safe.

Though as the day went on, Hiashi felt a certain sense of foreboding danger in the future, that would threaten the happiness he and everyone held in the village.

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(With Scarecrow)

In the same secluded area located in Konoha, darkness was the only thing that resided. Scarecrow had just finished practicing a jutsu which resulted in the ground to become a smoking 20-foot-wide crater.

"**Impressive kit, most impressive."** Kyuubi spoke.

"Yes, and I've perfected the other jutsu as well." The raggedy-nin responded.

"**To think, just a year and a half ago, you had barely any chakra control, plus your fighting style was erratic. Then that night came when you were **_**killed**_** and you were kidnapped by a handicapped old war hawk with ambition of turning the village into a dictatorship."** The demon fox began.

"**And now thanks to your epiphany and yours truly, you will grow to be the most powerful being on the face of the earth!"** he finished.

"Soon Konoha will know the true meaning of _**fear**_." Scarecrow spoke with venom lacing his voice.

"**Well until then, you have to pass the genin exams first kit, and from there you will take that first step you need."**

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The day came for finals and practically everyone felt confident in passing.

Everyone was in an exam room while Iruka and a light-blue haired chunin named Mizuki were both seated in their desks.

"Alright everyone, prepare for the written portion of the exam."

All the students took 45 minutes to finish the exam. After Iruka and Mizuki collected the exams, they proceeded to the training area behind the academy. There each genin was tested on the accuracy and speed of throwing a kunai at multiple targets. While some students did fairly well, the others did extremely well.

Then the final part of the exam came. Each student had to perform the 'Bushin no Jutsu'(Transformation technique) with a minimum of 3 clones or a maximum of 5 clones to pass and become rookie shinobi.

Almost everyone passed, and then the time came for Scarecrow's turn.

Iruka instructed the procedure and to his shock and surprise when he blinked, there were now 4 Scarecrows in place.

Everyone else was just as shocked.

'_But, how could he have produced four bushins without making a sound and how did they appear that fast? I just blinked for a second and…'_ Iruka pondered.

"U-Uh, congrats Scarecrow, you pass." he said as he gave him the blue hitae. Scarecrow took it and wrapped it around his hat.

"And congratulations to all who passed! You are now officially Konoha-nin."

After that everyone left happily while Scarecrow disappeared again.

When it was just Mizuki left in the classroom, he had a look of displeasure.

"Damn. I guess I'm going to have to take things into my own hands tonight." He whispered to himself. However he was not entirely alone.

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(Later in the afternoon)

Sasuke and Sakura were both proud of themselves as well as each other. The kunoichi was so happy she instinctively glomped onto Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun we did it!! We're finally genin!!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke however, was surprised at the outburst from her and from the hug. He blushed to a deep shade of crimson.

"Y-Yeah." he stuttered.

Sakura realized what she did and released him from her hold immediately. A blush appeared on her face as well

"I-I'm sorry Sasuke-kun." she said as she lowered her head down as if ashamed of her actions.

"It's okay you don't have anything to apologize for." he reassuringly informed her.

She lifted her head up and Sasuke smiled warmly at her.

"I knew you could do it Sakura." He said softly.

She blushed as she smiled in return for his praise.

They walked to Ichiraku's to celebrate only to find Hinata on the way. They congratulated each other and went to eat.

Soon nighttime came and the trio was on their way to their homes, when they saw a familiar looking chuunin carrying a huge scroll heading straight west of their direction.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Was that Mizuki-sensei?"

"Yeah, but it sure looked like he was carrying something important."

'Byakugan.' Hinata activated her doujutsu. She focused on what their sensei was carrying.

She gasped getting the other two's attention.

"I-It's the Forbidden Scroll."

Sasuke's eyes widened, he knew what that scroll was, and what Mizuki was doing with it.

"He's stealing the scroll!" he exclaimed to the two.

They followed him discreetly, out of curiosity to find out what was going on.

Eventually they followed him into the thick woods.

They saw him stop in a clearing to hide for a while.

"That was difficult. I was lucky enough to get out when I did, and with the scroll intact."

Mizuki smirked. "My contact in Rice Country will definitely reward me for this."

Just as Sasuke signaled the kunoichi to attack, a familiar voice rang out.

"Pathetic."

Mizuki gasped. "Who's there?!" he shouted.

"You who seek power, I can smell your desperation, envy and…fear." the voice hissed and got closer until out of the shadows appeared the terrifying Scarecrow.

Mizuki was shocked to the bone.

"You. What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you." Scarecrow replied.

"Oh, really." Then without warning Mizuki threw the giant shuriken at him. The projectile was coming in so fast, Mizuki was sure he had hit him, and it did.

But Scarecrow didn't move from where he stood, even when the shuriken hit him. Except there was just one thing, it didn't pierce through him or anything. It just stuck to his torso by the tip.

By that time Mizuki's smirk of victory turned to shock and horror. When the raggedy-nin removed the shuriken from his torso and started walking towards the nervous chuunin.

Mizuki was about to throw regular shuriken now, but Scarecrow disappeared before he had the chance.

By this time Mizuki was afraid. Then Scarecrow's voice rang out through the woods again.

"I tend to meet people like you, vermin in disguise that perceive to be superior and betray others as such."

Mizuki couldn't take it anymore. "WHAT ARE YOU?!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Just as he finished he felt a touch on his forehead. And just like Kiba he ended up screaming in fear.

Through the traitor's eyes he saw Scarecrow to be even more terrifying than before. He fell on his butt as he scooted away. Scarecrow then spoke to him in a very demonic distorted voice in place of his regular one.

"**They scream and they cry. Much as you're doing now."** Then he raised an arm, brought it down towards the screaming chuunin's head.

Said chunnin was whimpering and crying for mercy.

"P-P-P-Please, m-m-make it s-stop, m-make it stop." By that time his head had been grasped by the nightmarish shinobi.

"MAKE IT STO-" and the back of head exploded with blood seeping through every pore in the skull, the rest was sprayed onto the grass behind the dead man.

Scarecrow left the body and walked towards the large scroll containing many forbidden techniques.

He reached out and touched it.

'_Kyuubi, are you getting this?'_ he asked.

"**Just a 3 more seconds and…got it. I must say there is quite an arsenal of jutsus in here to master. Are you up to it?"**

'_Of course.'_

After only that minimum amount of time, he tossed the scroll passed two trees and landed directly behind them.

As Scarecrow walked away, he called out to the three that had seen and heard the entire thing.

"You three might want to go and report this to Hokage-sama." And he disappeared into the shadows of the dense forest once more.

The three genin who were hiding were shocked at how he knew of their presence with ease. But they were horrified at the crimson mess that was the chuunin-gone-traitor.

Sakura had to go behind a tree and puke. She as well as Hinata and Sasuke, would not forget the brutality that Scarecrow had shown.

'_Scarecrow-san'_ thought Hinata.

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(Later in the Hokage's office)

The old Hokage looked on at the scene played before him through his crystal ball. Apparently Scarecrow was just as deadly as he was frightening.

He sighed heavily. "Well, I still feel uneasy about him, but he did stop Mizuki, though he could have left him alive for the interrogation.

"Let's hope putting him in a team will turn out all right."

Yes indeed, this night was just the beginning.

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Sorry if I got kind of lazy in the end and I'm really sorry it took me so long to update!! Well please review and remember...(insert deep demonic voice here) **I WILL NOT TOLERATE HARSH CRITICISM!!!!** Okay? Goooooood.

Next chapter: teams are picked, senseis are introduced, the _real_ genin test, and then…the mission to the Land of Wave.


	6. Chapter 5

**Happiness Lost, Rage Awakened**

Chapter 5 is up and running. During this chapter, Scarecrow's powers will reveal themselves to a minimum.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking' _

"**Demon/Entity Speaking"**

'_**Demon/Entity Thinking'**_

'Jutsu/**Demonic or Dark Jutsu'**(Translation)

Enjoy!

I don't own Naruto or any of the dark creatures from Metalocalypse, Harry Potter, Fable, Soul Calibur, Lord of the Rings and Ninja Gaiden for future references.

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Word had spread quickly of Scarecrow's actions towards the dead traitor, Mizuki, who had been caught stealing the Forbidden Scroll and killed by Scarecrow. The eyewitness reports by Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata verified the details.

After that people were a little more fearful of the raggedy-nin. When they came across his way they would literally feel their spines shiver.

Now today was the day for the newly-instated genins to be placed in 3-man squads led by a jounin.

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(Konoha Academy- team selections)

As everyone was chatting amongst themselves, Scarecrow was in his usual thinking position.

The door opened and Iruka appeared.

"Everyone, it's time to assign teams." he announced.

Everyone waited in anticipation to see what team they would be in. After the first few genin teams were made, he reached the last few.

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and… Scarecrow"

Both Sasuke and Sakura gulped.

"Team 8: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino."

Hinata looked a bit downcast. _'Then I won't get to see Scarecrow-san'_

"Team 10: Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji."

Ino despaired after being paired with lazy and the fa--. Well that word was considered a taboo.

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Later, Team 7 was waiting in the same classroom after the rest of the teams had left.

They waited 3 hours for their new jounin sensei, but so far nothing.

"Where's the jounin?" Sakura asked, clearly frustrated.

Sasuke sighed. "No idea."

Scarecrow didn't say a thing.

Suddenly the door slid open and out revealed Hatake Kakashi in jounin attire. After the incident a year ago he quit being an ANBU captain.

He was currently reading a new issue of Icha Icha Paradise. His eye peered over to the new team. He saw the Uchiha, the fangirl, and the enigmatic raggedy-nin who killed a traitor in cold-blood.

'_Something about that new genin actually sends a chill down my spine.'_ thought Kakashi.

"Ah… Sorry I'm late. I was helping an old lady find her cat when_"

"LIAR!!!" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Well, meet me on top of the roof." and Kakashi 'poofed' away.

They met up on the roof.

"Now then, time to get to know one another. I want you to tell me everything that you are. Things you like, things you hate, and your dreams." Kakashi explained.

Sakura raised her hand. "Ano… Sensei? Can you give us an example?"

Kakashi nodded. "Very well." He took a deep breath before he began. "My name is Hatake, Kakashi. My interests are… I don't feel like telling you. My disinterests are none of your business. And my dreams are…well I don't have one." he finished.

'_So all he told us was his name.'_ thought Sasuke and Sakura.

"Okay. Pinky you're up next."

Sakura grimaced at the nickname before introducing herself. "My name is Haruno, Sakura. My interests are spending time with my friends, Hinata and…" she stopped as she looked bashfully at Sasuke and blushed when he glanced at her. She continued.

"I hate Ino-pig and sexist guys!!" she exclaimed.

Then she showed a bit of her serious side.

"I want to be able to protect the people I care about, and not sit on the sidelines." she said with determination.

'_Hmm, she actually wants to take this shinobi business seriously.'_

"Your next." Kakashi pointed to Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke. I have very little interests with exception of my friends, Sakura and Hinata. I hate ignorant bastards. And my dream… well it's more of an ambition and then a dream. First I seek to find a certain man and kill him."

Sasuke's face glowered then lightened a bit when he continued. "And then, I hope to fulfill my promise to a friend and be more compassionate and kind to others. Lastly I'm going to restore my clan."

'_Okay, he's different from when he was last year.'_

Finally it was Scarecrow's turn. The raggedy-nin slowly raised his head to face his sensei before speaking.

"My name is Scarecrow, the Master of Fear." He stated coldly.

"My interests are tinkering, phobias, and the inner psyche of man. My dislikes are liars, hypocrites, and parasites."

"And my goal is to spread and instill fear into those who deserve it and make them _**feel**_ it." He finished.

The three eyed Scarecrow warily. _'Okay… Spooky.'_

Kakashi coughed an *ahem*

"Anyway, let's begin with the test."

Sakura raised her hand.

"Demo…sensei, we've already passed our exams." said Sakura who was confused at what their new sensei was going with this.

"That was a merely a pretest. The real test is to place 3 genins together and…"

"See if we can prove our skills as a team." Sasuke interrupted.

Kakashi gave the Uchiha an eye-smile. "Exactly! Wow you're pretty sharp for a kid your age."

Sasuke didn't know whether to accept that as a sarcastic remark or as an insult.

They followed Kakashi into a training field. It was large and open, perfect for hand-to-hand combat. And it had it had dense thicket of woods surrounding the field, perfect for stealth and long-rage combat.

In the far right corner was a huge black memorial stone. On the left were three large wooden stakes.

"Now as Sasuke mentioned earlier, this is a test of how well a genin team can do in teamwork, such is the purpose of three-man squad."

"Now when it comes to me, I take teamwork very seriously. Which is why most of the new genin teams sent to me have a 66% of failing."

Kakashi took out two bells from his vest pocket and a timer.

"This is a test that will determine how well you all work together. The rules are simple; you have to snatch these bells from me before the timer runs out, if you fail you all will be sent back to the academy."

Sasuke's eyes widened considerably in shock, and Sakura gasped.

Scarecrow remained neutral, not that anyone could see his reaction.

Kakashi set the timer.

"Before I forget; if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't pass."

The genin stood ready.

"Now, GO!"

Sasuke and Sakura _shushined_ in different directions, while Scarecrow didn't move from his spot.

Kakashi was still reading his new issue of _Icha Icha Paradise_.

He tilted his eyes up to Scarecrow.

"You know, compared to the others, you're a little odd." said Kakashi

Kakashi was greeted with a momentary silence from Scarecrow.

"You know, you're really making this easy for me. I guess I'll go after your…" he was cut-off by Scarecrow.

"Do you know fear, sensei?" asked Scarecrow.

"Hmn?" Kakashi didn't know what he was asking.

"The origin of a scarecrow was merely to frighten the crows away from the fields of farm workers. But the truth of the matter is that the Scarecrow is the incarnation of fear itself. That is the most precious fact, because fear is the key factor in making people tick." Scarecrow finished explaining.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his explanation.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind." and he 'poofed' away.

-

Meanwhile, Sasuke was hiding behind a tree with a nylon wire tied to his fingers. He heard footsteps coming which did not sound like Scarecrow's.

'_It's Kakashi-sensei.'_ he thought. He clenched his fingers, tugging the strings which were attached to a small mirror hidden in a few trees on the right.

Sakura was also hidden in the top of a tree. Across the clearing she could see something flash before her eyes. She saw the mirror she gave Sasuke to signal her when Kakashi was coming.

'_Right, it's time.'_ she thought.

Right at that moment, the silver-haired jounin appeared.

He walked further into the clearing, until he tripped a wire.

Suddenly various kunai shot out of the trees and aimed right at Kakashi. He dodged them with relative ease and the knives landed right behind him.

"You'll have to do better than…" Kakashi was interrupted when he heard a hiss coming _behind_ him.

He turned his head and his eye widened when he saw the source of the hissing: paper bombs attached to each kunai.

"Shit." he muttered under his breath.

***BOOM!!!***

Kakashi, being quick on his feet, managed to dash away from the explosion just in time.

'_That was close. Perhaps I shouldn't underestimate them. And I should put away my book. That explosion nearly torched my precious novel.'_

Just as he was putting away his book, Sasuke appeared in front of him.

The Uchiha threw a roundhouse kick which Kakashi blocked in time. Then, Sasuke tossed a punch aimed at Kakashi's head, but was caught by said jounin.

With one free hand Sasuske performed a few handseals.

Kakashi was shocked. _'No way, that takes up too much chakra.'_

'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!' (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique) shouted Sasuke.

The fireball was considerably large as it burned and singed a considerable portion of the field.

Sasuke smirked at his performance, but that moment of triumph passed as he saw not Kakashi burnt to a crisp, but a log.

Sasuke gasped. "A Substitution?!"

"Yep." Kakashi's voice rang from behind him.

Sasuke turned only to find himself in an arm-and-headlock.

"That was pretty good Sasuke, but you can't go in on your own." Kakashi lectured the young Uchiha.

To his surprise, Sasuke smirked.

"I'm not."

Suddenly, the ground beneath Kakashi's feet rumbled and caved in.

Now his legs were stuck in place and couldn't move. This in turn made him lose his grip and let go of Sasuke, but not before a shuriken whizzed from behind and cut the bells attached to his vest.

Sasuke took this opportunity and snatched the bells in mid-air. Then he jumped away from Kakashi, who looked like he was in a pickle.

Sasuke grinned victoriously.

"Sakura, come out. We did it."

And she did. Sakura ran up to her teammate and friend. They gave each other a high five.

"Nice work with the traps, you always had a knack for them." Sasuke complimented the pinkette kunoichi.

Sakura blushed at his praise.

"Arigato, Sasuke-kun."

But just then, another 'poof' was heard.

The pair turned their heads to see that their sensei had vanished.

"A clone." Sasuke scowled.

Sakura was confused as to where he went.

"It doesn't make sense, why would he leave without congratulating us?" she pondered for a moment until the realization hit her harder than a ton of bricks.

"Unless it's because the test isn't over."

Sasuke looked at her incredulously.

"What?! But we got the bells, and using teamwork!"

"Not _**all**_ of us." she answered.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

They both ran back to the main training field, to find Kakashi holding Scarecrow with a knife to his neck area. (Which was right above the piece of hangman's noose he wore over his head)

He gave both of them an eye-smile.

"Well now, that was some bit of teamwork back there. I'm impressed. Too bad that your teammate here didn't participate, otherwise you three would've passed with flying colors. Oh well, the bells, please."

Sasuke had no choice. He tossed the bells to Kakashi, which he caught.

But before the exchange could be done, Kakashi heard a low, venom-like hiss coming from Scarecrow.

He glanced over to Scarecrow to see him convulse a bit.

"Scarecrow…?"

Without warning, large, bloodied, bone-spikes shot out from Scarecrow's back and attempted to clutch Kakashi in its 'jaws'.

"What the..?!" Sakura and Sasuke exclaimed.

Scarecrow convulsed a bit more. Then they heard cracking and tearing coming from him.

They witnessed a horrible transformation occur within the boogeyman.

His arms legs and torso expanded slightly, making him taller by several feet. Then his feet got larger and burst through his boots, revealing clawed toes, covered in bloodied straw.

His hands expanded as well with the same results.

Finally his head started to twist convulse a lot more until his mask tore and his hat fell off. It revealed to be an insect-like head, much like a spiders except it had a larger mouth and fangs on the sides. It had two sets of 3 yellow eyes lined up parallel to each other.

What they thought was a person beneath that mask was actually a monster.

The monster tilted its head in Kakashi's direction and let out an unearthly screech.

"A genjutsu? I'll take care of that." and Kakashi shouted 'Kai!' to dispel the genjutsu.

But it failed.

"Nani?!

The monstrosity shot his arms into the ground and popped up around Kakashi, who tried to escape but was caught by his right leg.

The monster pulled Kakashi back down the hole and up back to it.

Kakashi was now in the creature's hands and came face-to-face with it. The creature let out another wailing roar. The breath on the beast reeked of death and fear, but also there was nothing to stare at within the maw, just…darkness

The creature's mouth began to unhinge its jaws and began to stretch up until its lower jaw reached Kakashi's torso.

Sasuke and Sakura saw something else that shocked and sickened them.

Scarecrow popped out of the creature's mouth! Well half of him was still buried in the monster's jaws, but the upper part of his body was still usable, meaning he had free movement of his arms.

He tilted his head to Kakashi.

"Now Kakashi, **let's see what you're afraid of**." he spoke in the same distorted voice he spoke to Mizuki before he met his demise.

And just like last time, he used only two fingers to do the job.

Kakashi struggled to get out of the monstrosity's grip, but it was futile. He closed his eye awaiting the worst. Instead, felt Scarecrow tap his forehead.

His eye snapped open only to find everything…_normal?_

He noticed that he was no longer restrained by that creature, nor was he facing anyone, let alone his students.

Then he spotted someone. From afar, it looked like a blur, until his eyes widened in shock at who it was. Someone he knew had been dead for years.

"Obito." He called the name of his deceased friend, Uchiha Obito.

He tentatively approached Obito, who looked exactly as he did when he died; 13 years old.

He touched his shoulder, getting the Uchiha's attention.

Kakashi was smiling underneath his mask. He didn't care if he was in a dream or not.

"Obito… I'm sorry."

But when he turned his friend over, he found out his dream was actually a nightmare. The clear, blue sky turned blood-red with swirling, black clouds. The once lush and evergreen trees died and leaves turned to ash. The ground beneath his feet became dry and dusty.

The second he saw his friend, he jumped away, horrified. It was Obito, but with half of his face was crushed, like it was when he was crushed by a boulder. His right left eye socket was without an eye.

Though he was blinded, he stared at Kakashi like he had eyes.

"Why, Kakashi? Why did you and Rin leave me for dead? Why did you steal my eye?"

Kakashi shook his head disbelievingly. _'No, no this can't be real!'_

"Kakashi…"

His eyes widened profusely as he turned his head to find the source of another familiar voice.

'_No…Not him.'_

It was his sensei and father-figure as well as the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze. Only his was bleeding profusely from head to toe.

"Kakashi, you've failed me, and my legacy. I'm disappointed in calling you my student." The blonde shook his head disappointingly.

'_No, no, no, no!!'_

Just then, he felt something grab his leg. Kakashi tilted his head down, and saw something he never wanted to see a year ago.

It was Naruto… or what he recognized as Naruto. His most of his skin had been burnt to the third-degree, he was still wearing his pajamas and he too was severely bleeding.

"Why?! WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE ME?!!" he screamed.

Everything started to swirl around the silver-haired jounin. Minato and Obito were walking toward him.

"**WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE US?!!!!"** they shouted in unison.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kakashi screamed.

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Back with Kakashi, he was just standing like a statue with a hunched over posture. His eye was the size of a dinner plate and his pupil was speck.

The monster that had restrained him broke down into a two dozen crows.

Sasuke and Sakura were shell-shocked and paralyzed with fear.

Scarecrow walked to the Jounin and picked the bells from his limp hand.

He walked to his teammates and gave them the bells.

"Take them."

Sasuke, a little wary of his scary teammate, he snatched them.

Sakura peered at her sensei. She then looked at Scarecrow.

"Ano, is he going to be okay?" she asked.

Scarecrow turned to face her. "He'll be fine. His sanity is bit…shaken, but he'll be himself…for the most part."

It was Sasuke's turn to ask. "What did you do to him?"

"I'm sure I told you all what my profession is."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke inquired.

"As I said before, I am the 'Master of Fear'. I simply showed him the meaning of fear and its impact." he explained.

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Is it? Fear comes in all shapes and forms: Anxiety, Apprehension, Trepidation, or the greatest form…Guilt. Every single person living in this village reeks of guilt. Everywhere I walk I can feel their guilt lingering over them and eating from within them like a starved rat. Now I wonder, what could possibly be haunting them so much?" he asked with a false sense of not knowing.

Kyubbi was doubling over in laughter with his apprentice's acting skills.

"Anyway, he should snap out of it, in 3…2…1."

On cue, Kakashi let out a deep breath he had been holding for Kami knows how long. He fell on his knees and nearly tossed his breakfast, but held it in and swallowed the huge lump in his throat. He kept inhaling and exhaling a couple of shaky breaths and tilted his head up to see his students again.

Sasuke showed him the bells. "So do we pass?"

***BBBRRRIIIINNNGGGG***

The timer had stopped.

Kakashi had to push back the images and tried to get to rationalize what happened to him without including that little episode he had.

He had been beaten and his new students used teamwork against him like he had ordered and got the message of his exercise; all before the timer went up.

"Or do we need to try…again?" Scarecrow inputed.

Kakashi raised his hands and shook his head fervently.

"Nonono." he responded quickly. "I've had enough of that. You three pass."

Scarecrow was impassive, while Sasuke smirked to himself. Sakura, who should have been happy that she made it, was still shaken at Scarecrow's brutality.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you going to be okay?" she asked concernedly.

Kakashi zoned out a bit before realizing she was talking to him.

"U-Uh, y-yeah, I'll be fine. You three go on about your day, and congratulations on making it to Team 7."

And without saying another word, Kakashi 'poofed' away again.

Sasuke turned to his teammates only to find Scarecrow had vanished, again.

So it was just him and Sakura.

"So… I guess we made it." he stated awkwardly.

"Uhm…hai."

"Perhaps we should celebrate. Ramen on me?"

Sakura blushed a bit before nodding.

He smiled. "Great I'll meet you there; we should probably let Hinata come too."

"Oh, alright." she said a bit dejectedly but kept it well hidden. And they both went off to offer congratulations to their friend, who also passed the exam.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

(With Kakashi)

The silver jounin had just 'poofed' into his apartment. He took of his vest, albeit shakily.

He made his way to the bathroom and towards the toilet, where he began to puke relentlessly for 30 minutes straight.

After washing up he sat down in a nearby chair and plopped himself down.

He stared blankly at the wall for a few minutes until he eventually broke down and sobbed into his hands.

Mutters of 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry' filled the room.

All of the tragic moments he experienced in life, he thought he had buried into his soul, were brought back up so he could experience them, courtesy of Scarecrow.

Konoha's Boogeyman.

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And Chapter 5 is done.! So sorry for the wait. Please don't hate me!!

I'll get started right away on Chapter 6 once I get back from the New Year's celebration in Orlando.

So hope you all have had good Holiday break and Have a Happy New Year!!!!

Ja ne!!


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